POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 86 (12-09-2015)

Occupy Central

Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.

Umbrella Movement

The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.

The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace,  groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.

Occupy Central site in Causeway Bay was cleared as police moved in  ...

Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.

Hong Kong reform vote

The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.

POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 271

POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 86 (12-09-2015)

Full coverage of the day’s events  

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Hong Kong’s leader has special ‘overriding power’ over executive, legislature and judiciary – top official


Beijing’s top liaison official Zhang Xiaoming has said Hong Kong’s chief executive has an “overriding power” above all administrative, legislative and judicial organs in the government, and that the separation of the three powers “is not suitable” for Hong Kong.

“The political system in the HKSAR is an administrative-oriented system under the direct jurisdiction of the central government and centred around the chief executive, with checks and balances as well as cooperation between the administration, and an independent legislature,” Zhang told attendees at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law on Saturday.

The CE “has the status of a double chief and is accountable to two sides,” Zhang said. “This gives the CE a special legal position which overrides administrative, legislative and judicial organs.”

Director of the Central Government’s Liaison Office, Zhang Xiaoming. Photo: NowTV screengrab.

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, ensures its judicial independence – Zhang added – but the Special Administrative Region’s leader has special legal power above the judiciary as well as the executive and legislative branches of government. As Hong Kong is not a sovereign state, it will not implement the Western system of “separation of three powers,” he said.

“Hong Kong is not using the British or American system… One and a half centuries have passed, if now we copy [the Western system], if we implement separation of three systems and the parliamentary system of the US and UK, and use this to judge whether [society] is democratic, I’m afraid it’s not suitable.”

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Photo: NowTV screengrab.
Speaking in the same event, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy needs to be kept within the Basic Law framework, and that the principle of “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” also needs to be restricted by the Basic Law.

At the end of his speech, Zhang said that he knew his remarks will cause controversy, but felt that he ought declare his stance clearly.

The Liaison Office is China’s de facto representation in the Hong Kong SAR. It is responsible for interactions between the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the People’s Liberation Army, as well as political and propaganda efforts in the city.



‘Hong Kong leader is above the executive branch, legislature and courts’, says Beijing’s liaison chief

Beijing’s top man in Hong Kong has stirred political unease after he placed the chief executive - the post now held by Leung Chun-ying - above the executive, legislature and judiciary, effectively ending any notion that the separation of powers concept was applicable to Hong Kong.

Central People’s Government’s liaison office chief Zhang Xiaoming’s remarks during a Basic Law symposium on Saturday, which suggested the separation of powers could only exist in sovereign states, sparked concern over whether Beijing is redefining the function and status of the chief executive of Hong Kong, who is selected by a small group of elites mainly loyal to the central government.

“The chief executive’s dual responsibility [to both Hong Kong and Beijing] means he has a special legal position which is above the executive, legislative and judicial institutions,” Zhang said during his 26-minute speech in the morning, in his latest politically sensitive comments. The Basic Law is Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

Zhang also says Hong Kong is a jurisdiction directly under the central government, with the appointed chief executive as the core, in an “executive-led, judicially independent political system”.

“The chief executive’s power is not limited to leading the Hong Kong administration, but has a dual role – [as] head of the Hong Kong government and also the head of the Hong Kong special administrative region. He has responsibility towards both the Central People’s Government and to Hong Kong,” he explained.

Zhang added: “Hong Kong is not a political system that exercises the separation of powers; not before the handover, not after the handover”.

He said separation of powers “is usually established in sovereign states”, and so it is “at best” only a reference for Hong Kong.

Alan Leong Ka-kit, of the Civic Party, interpreted these comments as Beijing sending a message that Leung should be put on a pedestal “like an emperor”, and that legislative and judiciary systems cannot keep his power in check or keep him accountable.

Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Labour Party, another pro-democracy group, said: “In the long run, how would Hongkongers have faith in the Basic Law, whose meaning has always been changing?”

However, pro-Beijing figures sought to alleviate grave concerns.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a top official think tank, says the chief executive is not exempt from the checks and balances of the judiciary and legislature, despite Zhang’s statement.

“From the mainland’s perspective, it is a separation of powers under the leadership of the executive. The three powers are not equally important and do not share the same status,” Lau said.

“Under the Basic Law, the executive, legislature and judiciary have their own powers and duties. But the chief executive’s position is supreme.”

According to the Basic Law, the chief executive's powers and functions include signing bills passed by the Legislative Council and promulgating laws, to appoint or remove judges of the courts at all levels in accordance with legal procedures, and to decide on government policies and to issue executive orders.

It states that he or she is "accountable to the Central People's Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law".

Article 64 of that law says that the executive branch "must abide by the law and be accountable to the Legislative Council of the region".

According to Article 85, meanwhile, Hong Kong's courts "shall exercise judicial power independently, free from any interference. Members of the judiciary shall be immune from legal action in the performance of their judicial functions". 

Legco, it states, has the power to introduce bills, endorse the appointment and remove of judges in the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court, and to file a motion charging the chief executive with serious breach of law or dereliction of duty in a process that can lead to impeachment after an investigation by the judiciary.

Veteran's new party set for Legco voting

A new political party to be set up by former Democratic Party veteran Tik Chi-yuen will contest the New Territories East Legislative Council by- election triggered by the imminent resignation of former Civic Party stalwart Ronny Tong Ka-wah.

Tik, who resigned from the Democratic Party on Wednesday, also said the new party will contest the 2016 Legco elections.

Tong resigned from the Civic Party in June amid rifts in the pan-democratic camp, and at the same time announced his resignation from Legco would be effective on October 1.

In a radio interview yesterday, Tik said he made his decision after fellow moderate Nelson Wong Sing-chi was expelled from the party in July.

"I have been considering it for some time because we all know what's going on," he said.

"Now Sing-chi and I, with some other friends, will form a new group and participate in the Legco election."

Tik and Wong will form the new party, which has yet to be named but already has 15 members, he said.

They held the first organizing meeting on Wednesday night, and it is expected that the party will be formed in two to three months.

When asked if he will be the party chairman, Tik said it was too early to say. The group would choose a rational and moderate path toward democracy but there would be not much difference from the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, National People's Congress Standing Committee member Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai said continued communication between the central government and pan- democrats would be good.